GlideQuery in ServiceNow Development

GlideQuery

A safer, more readable alternative to GlideRecord for scoped development.

Quick answer

A safer, more readable alternative to GlideRecord for scoped development.

Key takeaways

Field name typos throw instead of returning nothing
selectOne returns an optional, so missing records are explicit
aggregate covers most GlideAggregate use in fewer lines
GlideRecord is still required for some platform APIs

Why it exists

GlideQuery wraps GlideRecord with a fluent API, real return values and errors that fail fast instead of silently returning nothing. Typos in field names throw rather than producing an empty result set, which removes a whole class of bugs.

Reading records

Select returns a stream you map over, and selectOne returns an optional you unwrap with get.

var open = new GlideQuery('incident')
  .where('active', true)
  .where('priority', '<=', 2)
  .orderByDesc('opened_at')
  .limit(10)
  .select('number', 'short_description')
  .toArray(10);

var one = new GlideQuery('sys_user')
  .where('user_name', 'abel.tuter')
  .selectOne('sys_id', 'email')
  .get();

Writing and aggregating

Insert, update and deleteMultiple read clearly, and aggregate replaces GlideAggregate boilerplate.

insert returns the created record fields you asked for
update takes a sys_id and a changes object
aggregate supports count, sum, avg, min and max with groupBy
disableWorkflow and forceUpdate exist when you genuinely need them

Practice challenge

+0 XPStreak ×0

Question 1 of 2

What happens when you misspell a field in GlideQuery?

Frequently asked questions

Should we rewrite existing GlideRecord code?

No. Use GlideQuery for new work where it reads better. Rewriting working code buys nothing.

Does it work in global scope?

Yes, though it was designed with scoped development in mind and that is where it is most valuable.